#HNBD!Nightmare

[topazshadowwolf]

You said before that killer got all the 'parenting mistakes' and that nightmare now has more experience being a dad boss, so if one of the other nightmares from the multiverse said they were thinking of getting henchmen but didn't know what to expect, what kind of advice do you think he would give them?

Ha! You were likely expecting a quick and easy answer! Well no luck. I just thought this over and considered the situation this would occur. So you get you answer in a short fic! (With another Noot to boot! Try not to read the tags and guess who he is.)

—-

Another useless meeting. He should have left instead of standing in the back, arms folded, wanting to go home. Perhaps it was just seeing how others were and comparing how different he was that kept him in place. That, and he dragged a Nightmare he had gotten to know along with him.

Still, he tried to listen to the one who called the meeting prattle on and on about the need to rule his multiverse—a genuinely foolish notion.

“That is someone who likes to hear himself speak,” He mumbled to his friend. Were they friends? Is it possible for a Nightmare to make friends with another Nightmare?

“Thanks for bringing me along,” his friend replied. “I now know how glad I should be that I missed all this.”

Rolling his eyelight, Nightmare chuckled, “It is hit and miss for these. We can ditch in a bit. Call me nosy, but I am curious about how a few I remember and do not like are doing.”

“Need your gossip?” His friend asked with a smirk.

“Please, gossiping is infantile. This is silent gloating over the misfortunes of those I despise,” Nightmare grinned. He then looked over the crowd, chuckling to himself now and then when he noticed certain Nightmares that angered him were not doing as well as when he last saw them.

“What’s so funny?” His friend asked.

“If I tell you, then it is gossiping. Get your own enemies to silently gloat over,” Nightmare replied with a smirk.

They were about ready to leave when another moved closer to him. He remembered seeing this one before. If memory served him correctly, this one was from a younger multiverse. He was shorter and more slight in build.

“Were you listening?” The new one whispered to him.

“There is nothing to listen to other than mad ravings,” Nightmare whispered back, which got a chuckle from his friend.

“May I ask you something?” The new one asked.

“You just did,” his friend joked back.

The new one huffed a sigh, and Nightmare chuckled. “Come on, let’s step away from this lunacy and chat.”

The three walked a distance off, far away enough that the longwinded speech of one who called this meeting was nothing but a dull hum in the background. Nightmare looked at this other who looked younger than himself and his friend. “Now, what was it you wanted to ask?”

“Well, I… I remembered how healthy and… mentally stable your subordinate was, and I would like to take one in. Compared to many of the others here, you seemed like a good option to turn to,” The new one said.

Did this young Nightmare just call Killer mentally stable?

“I think he’s asking you for your fathering tips,” his “friend” said with a grin.

Nightmare shot him a glare then looked back at the other Nightmare. He could easily threaten and scare off this smaller and clearly younger version of himself from some small, developing multiverse. And perhaps some others would for bothering them with such matters. But no… this one ne was interested in learning and Nightmare could not push away that desire. Besides, if it meant alternate versions of his boys won’t suffer cruety, he will despense what he knows.

“I see… well, know that your subordinates will need you to provide them with direction after missions as well as during them. Most of my Killer’s distructive behaviors could be attributed to me thinking that he could simply entertain himself quietly. Some can, and some can not. Even Dust does better with metal stimulation and encouragement to participate in activities instead of sitting and wallowing in negative thoughts,” Nightmare said then folded his arms. “These were things I figured out later. Also, be alert to your subordinates wants now and then. Killer, for example, deveopled a some jelousy because he noticed the others getting things. Because he never asked I did not question his wants. Just ask every now and then. Some may feel they have done enough wrong that they don’t deserve to ask and only take what they get. So watch for that.”

“Huh, that’s two with Killer,” His friend mused.

“Yes, well, with him being my first subordinate, I did make a few mistakes with tending him. For example, monitoring what he ate and wellbeing. He was eating, but mostly junk food. The type of mortals we tend to take in are emotionally damaged, and those who are that way do not always tend to their own needs well. They may seem fine, but that is an act. A front to make it seem like they are coping when they are not,” Nightmare explained. Wanting to drive this home, he reiterated what he was getting at. “Pay attention to their mental needs, emotional needs, and the occational wants.”

“If you do that, you won’t be like this guy, who felt so bad about how he neglected Killer that he let his castle get over run by cats,” his friend chuckled.

“It is not over run… but there are too many,” Nightmare sighed then grinned at his friend, “perhaps it is time for your tiny brother to come visit again to make more feline friends.”

“No,” His friend stated flately

“Thank you…” The younger Nightmare said thoughtfully, despite the jesting among the older two Nightmares.

“We are about to head out, I suggest you do too. Meetings like this are only trouble, alright?” Nightmare said to the younger who nodded.

“I will,” He replied.

Nightmare watched as the younger formed his portal and left. He then formed one of his own and the two left.

---

How forgetful of me, I completely forgot to add that the other Nightmare (the friend) was the Nightmare from One Small Dream. That fic is by @calcium-cat

I do believe I have raved about this fic before, but just in case you STILL haven't read it, PLEASE do. Also, TY to Calluna (Calcium-cat) for reviewing this to make sure I did write her Nightmare correctly.

I will forgive myself this slight as when I posted this, I was on break at work and just couldn't wait to get home to post. So, I was rushing.

[somegrumpynerd]

It's been almost a whole week since I drew stuff @topazshadowwolf wrote about so we gotta fix that! Thankfully this ask got me out of bed this morning, rip to Dust's peace

[saelterlude]

ahaha ngl i got a bit obssesed with dadmare bcs of 'How Nightmare Become Dadmare' by @topazshadowwolf on AO3

so heres some doodles i did (during exams prep lol)

have some excited killer from chapter 9

(very) soon to be horror, basher of skulls from chapter 2

and dadnightmare calling his boys out of their room from chapter 8 (got distracted and forgot to draw dust oops)

[topazshadowwolf]

🔥🍵☕️ nightmare do you want any?

I don't want to turn this into an ask blog... but I'll humor you this once.

---

The dark skeleton looked over you with one cyan eyelight, his gaze harsh, judging. You are not one of his sons henchmen, and he is deciding of you are someone who could be worth building an alliance with. Well, you are offering him something to drink, so that is a start.

His tendrils curl idly as he relaxes, "Unless it is herbal tea, just water will suffice. I avoid stimulants and addictive substances. I have seen now coffee affects those who allow themselves to be controlled by it. Sci, for example, needs it to be active in the morning. I was controlled once, and I will never give up even a small amount of the freedom I reclaimed."

[topazshadowwolf]

Have any of the boys ever made nightmare laugh? Not that I think he's super serious all the time but I feel like he's someone you rarely see bust out laughing and I bet once his boys noticed they would make it their mission to get him laughing

So, you are right that Nightmare does rarely laugh. I think, compared to Underverse Nightmare and most likely OG Nightmare, he is slower to laugh. But he does and will. So, have the boys succeeded at one point? Absolutely! Though, I don't know if they would make it a mission to get him to laugh, but if they see a posibility to say or do something that will crack him up they will. But they won't go out of their way to do it unless they think their dad boss needs a good laugh.

[somegrumpynerd]

More doodles of the new chapter of How Nightmare Became Dadmare by @topazshadowwolf please go read it

[topazshadowwolf]

GoopTales: Part 21 Cuddles with Dadmare

Lyra tends to the boys as Nightmare sleeps, but after bed it is time for bed...

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21(you are here)/34

AO3: Ch 1 (1-4), Ch 2 (4-8), Ch 3 (9-12), Ch 4 (13-16) Ch 5 (17-19), Ch 6 (20-23), Ch 7 (24-27), Ch 8 (28-31), Ch 9 (32-34)

---

What had been the “entertainment room” now looked more like a playroom, with toys and games in easy reach of the boys. There were some movies and video games, but only a scant amount, considering they had been adults before who preferred watching more grown-up movies and shows. They didn’t care; the boys enjoyed playing board games together rather than video games alone. This was true even if they chose to break the rules so they could somehow all win.

Actually, it wasn’t breaking the rules so much as coming up with their own, occasionally midgame. Lyra didn’t mind since they were all having fun, even if she honestly had no idea what was happening most of the time. Killer and Cross were definitely the ring leaders in all of this, and Horror, though he seemed older, just seemed to enjoy following along in the chaos.

After a while, Horror moved over by her and leaned against her side with a yawn. Placing a hand on his back, she looked down at him. “Are you done with the game?” He gave a tired nod, and that was when she noticed the tears in his sockets. “Is your head bothering you?”

The child sighed, then looked up at her. “i try to ignore it…” his voice was quivering, and she scooped him up.

“I know you do, but you do not need to,” She stood up. “Killer, Cross, can you both play quietly until I return?”

“uh huh!” Killer replied.

“i wanna color!” Cross announced, and then he waved at Horror. “g’night!”

“night,” replied Horror, who then cuddled further into her chest—the poor dear.

She walked to the kitchen, where she knew she saw a bottle of pain pills safe for someone so young. She dosed out some and gave it to him with a glass of water. “There you go. Now, do you want to stay up a bit longer or go to bed?”

“bed, please, mrs. lyra,” Horror replied.

“Of course. How could I not help you to bed when you ask so nicely?” She answered as she picked him back up and carried him down the hall to the room Nightmare had picked out.

She entered the room and approached the bed. Before she could set him down, he asked softly, “where is dust? i thought he was sleeping.”

“Oh, well, he asked to sleep with Mr. Night,” She explained.

“oh…,” He said quietly. And there was continued silence. Part of her had a feeling she knew what he wanted to ask.

“Horror?” She started, and the child looked up at her. “Do you want to sleep with Mr. Night, too?”

Then the child looked away momentarily before turning back to Lyra and nodding. “but… i should be sleeping alone, aren't i?”

“It will be alright,” She said, and she turned around to leave the room and made her way to Nightmare’s room.

Opening the door, she listened and could only hear the soft breathing of sleeping. Her soft paw pads made her walk across the old, wood floor silent as she made her way over to the bed. Dust was still cuddled up to Nightmare, but she could see that the guardian now had an arm around the child. She set Horror down, and he crawled closer. She helped him under the covers so he was on the other side of Nightmare, cuddled up to his side.

Not long after she finished tucking the child in, she noticed the covers move as a tendril curled around Horror. Happily, the child wrapped his arms around the limb and hugged it like one might a teddy bear. Still, Nightmare was asleep, and this action was done unconsciously. This made Lyra smile as she moved a paw to her mouth to hold back a giggle.

Oh, how she will tease him once this ordeal is over. For one so adamant that he is not a father, he has taken to a fatherly role so naturally, he even fathers the boys in his sleep. Content that everyone was comfortable, she made her way back to the other two.

Cross and Killer were coloring near each other to share crayons. She walked over and smiled at them, “May I join you?”

“sure!” Cross replied as Killer moved over to make space for her, even if there was plenty of space already.

She thanked Killer for being so polite before joining the two on the floor and picking a coloring book. Opening it, she found a picture of a castle with a dragon with four hatchlings. It was labeled “A Mother Dragon And Young,” but nothing about the dragon made it male or female. Lyra decided that she would change this picture to fit her narrative for the image.

As they colored, Cross and Killer took turns talking about their days being here with Mr. Night and the others. “sometimes, i take my coloring book in, and i color in mr. night’s office. i always ask if i can help him, and sometimes he tells me he has a paper that needs some colors or drawings to make it nicer. so i make it look as colorful and nice as possible! mr. night always tells me i did a good job, and he pats me on the head before setting the paper aside,” Cross explained.

“he lets me help him wash up after dinner sometimes!” Killer said happily. “mr. night lets me dry stuff, and then he uses his tentacles to pick me up so i can put some of the stuff away!”

“It is so nice that you two are willing to help him,” She praised.

They continued to color until she had almost finished her picture. She was rather pleased with it and the edit of crossing out “Mother” and writing “Father.” It was then she noticed how quiet it was, and she looked up to see Cross was sleeping. Killer’s coloring had become lethargic while his sockets drooped, meaning he was ready for bed, too.

“Alright, I think it is time for bed for you two,” She said as she carefully picked up Cross. The youngest clung to her and nuzzled his face against her neck. Killer sat up and stretched his arms up to her. Sweeping her free arm over, she scooped up the last little skeleton.

As she made her way to the bedrooms, she glanced down at them, “Now, Horror and Dust are sleeping with Mr. Night. Is that where you would want to sleep too?”

“can we?” Cross asked, opening his tired sockets as he asked.

“please, oh please!” Killer said while he started to wiggle in her arms.

“You can if you two promise to be quiet and sleep. Remember, Mr. Night needs his sleep, so you can’t be noisy,” She insisted.

“we will,” Cross said.

“i’m going to be super quiet, i promise!” Killer said loudly.

Well… time will tell.

Before long, she was setting Cross on one side of the bed and Killer on the other. Cross was curling up near Horror when a tentacle embraced him. He smiled at the limb and started to pet it softly. Then, as his sockets closed, his hand stopped when he drifted off to sleep. 

Killer wiggled around near Dust, who grunted in annoyance but did not wake. Dust did yawn before he snuggled closer to Nightmare. Rolling so his back was toward Dust’s back, Killer then scootched back until they touched back to back. This also meant he wiggled his way under Nightmare’s arm, which was still over the smaller skeleton child.

Luckily, Nightmare did not wake, but like the others, a tentacle curled around the child, and Killer hugged the limb while nuzzling it. At least Killer was being quiet.

Killer reached out to her then, and she tilted her head. “i need a goodnight kiss,” he whispered.

Lyra smiled softly, then leaned down and placed a kiss on the tiny skeleton’s skull. Killer smiled back up at her before he started to settle into sleep. With that, she took a moment to admire the little family before her.

With a pleased smile, Lyra left the little family to sleep. Now, to finish tending the animals.

---

Nightmare sat in the shadow of his mother, reading a book silently to himself. It was a pleasant afternoon, not too hot, but not cold either—just the perfect temperature. Dream was away, as usual, helping the villagers. So, Nightmare was left to entertain himself, and he did so by reading.

That is until he noticed a lost child approaching him. Nightmare was a child himself, but this one was clearly younger than him.

“Hello? If you are here for the golden apples, my brother is away, and I am not to touch them,” Nightmare stated.

“n… no… i just… i don’t know where i am, and i…” The child was trembling as he looked around. The child was wearing a shirt with a sloth and matching bottoms. Odd clothing, really. He had never seen anyone dressed like that before. He looked around, clearly confused, with red eye lights, though the left eye had cyan blue in the middle.

“Where did you last see your parents?” Nightmare asked.

The child stiffened and looked down at the ground for a moment. He fidgeted with his shirt hem for a moment before finally muttering a question so quietly that Nightmare could not understand him, just the inflection of his voice.

“I am sorry, but what did you say?” Nightmare said with a sigh.

“what… what does ‘parents’ mean?” The child asked quietly, but at least this time, it was loud and clear enough for Nightmare to understand. But the question startled him.

“You do not know what the word ‘parent’ means?” He clarified, but that appeared to be the wrong thing to do. The child quickly turned and ran, but Nightmare jumped up and followed. His taller body meant longer legs, and he quickly caught up with the small child and grabbed him in a hug. 

The small boy was crying. He kept repeating that he was sorry. “sorry, i…i… shouldn’t have bothered you. i’m sorry… sorry that i… i’m stupid and a failure.”

“Shhh? Now, when did I utter such words?” He asked, and the child shivered in his arms. “A parent is the mother and/or father of a child. Or caregivers of a child who considers the child theirs.”

“oh…,” The small child looked up at Nightmare, tears in his sockets, but spoke with a happy tone, “i just learned about moms and dads!” The child then looked down and muttered the word ‘parents’ a few times as if committing it to memory. If he just learned about mothers and fathers, then this child is likely an orphan from an early age. One that has not had kind guardians. “mr. night is watching me for… the doctor. but he says i don’t have to go back to the doctor. i don’t think mr. night is my parent though… but he is nice… i mean, he’s not nice! he’s mean and horrible! oh! and very scary!”

Yeah… Nightmare wasn’t believing that last bit. The child seemed way too happy talking about this ‘Mr. Night.’ In all likelihood, this Mr. Night was some hermit who just didn’t want a bunch of people coming around by putting up a front that he encouraged this kid to perpetuate. Nightmare will gauge how ‘nice’ this Mr. Night is when he finds this child.

“Come with me, then, sit under my tree beside me and wait for Mr. Night to find you,” Nightmare said as he finally released the child from a hug before taking his hand and guiding him back to his mother.

I do not think this is wise, my child. A mortal is a mortal, even when small. His mother said. But Nightmare could not just leave this little child to wander around alone. He knows firsthand how cruel the village can be. And as much as Nightmare loves nature… a child so small would not last long alone. Saving his spot, he flipped back to the beginning of the book and started to read aloud.

After some time, a voice called out, “dust!” And Nightmare looked up to see another child approaching. The poor thing! His skull was cracked and he had… “dust! you’re here too?” The child wore a white shirt, fur-lined hoodie, and black shorts with a white stripe.

… Horror… Dust…

As the children talked, Nightmare remembered that he was no longer a child, that this was a dreamscape made by his tired mind that he drew these children into. Even in exhaustion, he seemed to want these mortals near, it seems.

How interesting that their minds choose to dress them in clothes they wear as adults…

“i am waiting here for mr. night,” Dust explained, and Horror nodded.

“okay, can’t miss this tree, so it makes sense!” Horror said as he sat down next to Dust. Horror then looked at Nightmare and smiled, “hello, mind if i stay here too?”

“No, you are welcome to wait here as well,” Nightmare replied, then continued the story after Dust explained what was going on so Horror understood.

Cross quietly walked up with a wave and sat next to Horror. Much like Dust, he wore pajamas, though they were pajama bottoms, with his favorite ‘anime’ themed t-shirt. Nightmare smiled at Cross, who waved at him before listening intently to the story. Mother chided Nightmare for keeping such mortals around. He… didn’t like the things she said about them. He could understand some of it, as he will admit, they were not the best ambassadors for mortal kind. Still, they were his, and that was all that mattered to him. He hated ignoring her, as she was his mother, even if this was a dream.

Thankfully, Killer’s boisterous entrance did drown out those hurtful things she said. The child, dressed in his regular clothes, white shorts, black sweater, and hoodie with a fur-lined hood, dashed forward and pounced on Dust. The smaller yelped out as Killer loudly proclaimed “tickle fight” before mercilessly assaulting Dust’s ticklish areas. Dust yelped and squeaked before giggling away. Horror was the one to come to his rescue, grabbing Killer and tickling the babybones, who squealed with laughter.

Dust scurried over and hid behind Nightmare as Cross faced a decision. Who does he back up? After a moment of debating, Cross jumped up and started to tickle Horror. Horror started to turn to defend himself when Killer sprang up to get the larger of the three back.

“Oh dear,” Nightmare said as he closed the book. He glanced back at Dust, “It appears the odds are against your friend. Two against one.”

Dust frowned for a moment, then looked up at Nightmare. “I am sorry for disturbing your peace, but I need to help horror.”

“That is quite alright. You do what you need to do,” Nightmare said with a smile. That was all Dust needed before running forward and tackling Killer. The two rolled around in the grass in a fit of giggles as they tried to tickle the other. That gave Horror the opportunity he needed to grab the youngest and tickle him until he surrendered.

Once the giggling died down, Nightmare stood up. “Care to join me for a walk?”

“sure!” Cross said, and Horror helped him stand.

Killer looked up at Nightmare briefly, then smiled big, “yeah! let’s join him!” Killer stood and pulled Dust up onto his feet.

With that, he led the children to the forest that he often played in with his brother, away from the ominous village and the insulting words of his mother. Once in the shelter of the trees, he helped them climb and explore…

… He almost didn’t want to wake up.

Almost… for a dream is just that, a dream. What matters more is the events in the waking world.

---

next

[topazshadowwolf]

Listen, I am by no means an angst enjoyer, but just thinking about the beautiful hurt/comfort potential of nightmare being ganged up on again like when he was a child and the boys coming to defend him where dream never did (and the potential angst if dream watches it all go down)

"I am by no means an angst enjoyed," you say as you send me this. THIS is the purest angst. You embraced your inner Nightmare as you wrote these words with the aim to cause as much devastation as you could. XD

Nightmare would be near a panic attack if not having one being in a situation that is similar to the day he ALMOST DIED and was corrupted. And the gang would have to approach him slowly to keep him from fearfully lashing out. (because in order for him to be ganged up on like that he would have to be weakened. He would only be remembering that day and not thinking straight. After all, he is panicking, and who has a rational thought when that terrified?)

The gang would be absolutely worried about their boss. They have never seen him like this and it... it is wrong to see someone so strong and mighty brought to such a state of being. Still... Nightmare is their boss and they love and respect him... as they would a father.

Dream would be absolutely DEVASTATED! Once again, when his brother needed him the most he couldn't do anything. Maybe he was weakened too or something else was keeping him from helping. Doesn't matter. He wasn't there when Nighty needed him. Blue would be trying to tend to Dream who would be nearly inconsolable for days. He's a failure... it's good that Nightmare found a new family because all Dream is is a failure. (Look what you did to the guardian of positive emotions XD)

The angst here is so strong I love this. :3c Good thing something like this, maybe not fully like this, but like this has the potential of happening much later in HNBD.

[saelterlude]

Chapter 11 got so much bickering siblings vibe lmao.

Anyway, as a younger sibling, I am so very familiar with Killer's bothering Horror position. It annoys my brother so much, I like doing it :))

How Nightmare Become Dadmare by @topazshadowwolf

[topazshadowwolf]

Behold, A True Nightmare!

[topazshadowwolf]

So in HNBD universe can dream also go into others’ dreams and create a dreamscape to pull others into like nightmare can?

Yup, he can. But just like Nightmare he often avoids doing this because entering dreams is invasive. He will, though, if he feels a need to do that. Not sure if you will ever see it since HNBD focuses more on Nightmare. Dream does make an appearance now and then because he is important to this story, too. Plus, I like showing the similarities between these two feuding twins.

If I decide to, later on, I may do a one-shot of this.

[topazshadowwolf]

Can dream and nightmare affect people with their namesakes? like, if they were to enter somebody's dream could they change the dreamscape to be more positive or negative or are they just observers? btw I think the universe you've made with your fics is really interesting and I love hearing about it :)

Okay... the twins and dreams/nightmares. They can both affect dreams without entering them. Remember, both view entering dreams as invading someone else's privacy, and that is an ability to be used sparingly. Dream guides Blue out of his Nightmare about Dust by strengthening his aura to provide a warm, safe feeling for Blue to cling to. Nightmare helped his boys with their nightmares by absorbing negative emotions which helps calm the mind to think of neutral or positive things.

Once in a dreamscape, they can do the same thing as well, but they can not change the scape to something they want. They are in the other person's sub-conscience, and that person has the most control. Can they have some influence? Sure, like telling someone not to think about pea soup which makes them think of pea soup, and it appears in the dream. They can either quietly observe and remain unseen or make their presence known and interact with the Dream. (Like how Nightmare interacted with Phantom Papyrus in Dust's dream.) But remember, what they can do is limited as it is someone else's mind and imagination.

They would have total control of the dreamscape if the dream was their own and they pulled the other into theirs. (I have spoken of this before... and perhaps in time, you will see this occur.) That said, to have that control, they would need to know they are sleeping. Otherwise, they might be the one who is having their secrets made known to others.

[topazshadowwolf]

Did Lyra and Night started dating during the two weeks start skip? Because in part 10 Mare said they weren’t dating.

Shhhhh, you’re not supposed to notice the inconsistencies. J/k, I’ll have to go through and fix that. When I started I didn’t want too much FuzzyNight. Thing is, FuzzyNight is like glitter and I “accidentally” knocked over a container of it onto GoopTales. So now it’s all over and we all know had difficult glitter is to clean up. So, no, they did not start dating in that two weeks, I just underestimated how much FuzzyNight I’d want to write. In all likelihood, at this point they would have had 1-2 official dates, but several evenings which are like dates but Nightmare wouldn’t think of them has such.

[topazshadowwolf]

He's obviously been around them for a long time and knows a lot, but do you think there's anything about mortals that nightmare still has to learn? Dream too for that matter, since nightmare had a head start on him

There will always be something about mortals both will learn, but really Dream is at the advantage. He spent a lot of his youth around different types of mortals. He understands that not all are the same and that they can be vastly different from each other. Each mortal is their own individual and can't even be defined by a trait like many immortals can.

When it comes to learning anything, please know this: I based their willingness to learn on traits I see in positively-minded people and negatively-minded people. People with positive upbeat personalities often go with the flow and are willing to learn and cope better than people who are negative. (The difference between "can" (positive) and "can not" (negative)) That is not to say those who are more prone to negative emotions don't learn or are unable to cope, they just tend to be slower to do so.

At least, that is what I have seen.

Also, Dream is more extroverted between the two while Nightmare is introverted and prefers keeping to himself when he can. This provides Dream with more chances to meet more mortals to learn more while Nightmare is content just learning from the few he keeps around himself.

[topazshadowwolf]

what do think nightmare’s favorite season is?

Honestly, I don’t know if he has a favorite. I just think he has favorite aspects of each season.

Spring- in early spring there is not as many bugs, it’s starting to warm up… plants are growing and trees are waking from their sleep… it’s an interesting time to meditate on the aspect of life… new and old.

Summer- summer storms and warm nights… he loved both of these. The power and might of lightning as it dances gracefully through the sky followed by that all encompassing boom of thunder that makes the earth shutter. The fierce winds and heavy rain… all of this he enjoys. And then how green and renewed the world is after. How much of the world seems stronger because of the storm. This to him is the truth of him. Negative times in our lives and those emotions can rip through like those storms. But if we endure, we grew from what the storms teach and provide. As for a warm summer night… they just have a good atmosphere to them.

Fall- even with fewer flowers, the world is still so vibrant. The trees’ leaves change colors and it is quite the display. But it’s more than that. The trees are getting ready to sleep. A reminder that all things need rest, even him. He has also liked that fall seems to be a time of thankfulness. A time to consider what is important to us. It was something he noticed more with the farmers who where the nicer of the mortals when he was young. (Though he rarely interacted with them, Dream seemed to like them more) The Farmers would harvest their fields and have a festival to thank the earth and their creator for their harvest. Plus Halloween is always a feast of negative emotions.

Winter- the stillness of it… how the snow looks like millions upon billions of tiny diamonds shimmering in the sunlight. He’s not as fond of being cold though, it makes the corruption sluggish. So he enjoys the fire place, the warmth and coziness that comes with avoiding the cold of winter… and then there is a certain holiday he has an oddly likes.

So, yeah, I can’t say this Nightmare has a favorite season.

[topazshadowwolf]

Dadmare will always comfort the boys, but will the boys be able to comfort Dadmare? That's a thought that has been on my mind the past few days.

I... think about this a lot. And as I was about to answer, I noticed that, once again, this question is begging for character analysis. This time the key figure of the fic. Nightmare.

You ask if the boys will ever comfort him, and while I, too, thought about when that would be, I realized they already are. To understand how you must see what Nightmare craves most. What comforts does he need? For he has his grand castle, filled with treasures...

Ask yourself, in my fic, what does he treasure most? (Hint, the answer is in chapter 3)

In one day, Nightmare lost something important. His family... the only beings who did not hate him. As a child, he was mentally, emotionally, and physically abused by everyone except Dream and his mother... and I could argue his mother was not as kind as some may think. An outcast... alone in the world and now accepted. His boys are odd, violent, and also unaccepted. But they accept him.

So... they are there for him. Giving his life purpose, and acceptance, and he values that immensely. They don't even know the impact they are having on him. Those three (and eventually four) have brought him peace and comfort already.

But there will also be moments of obvious comfort later in the fic.